American Choral Directors Association
The mission of ACDA is to inspire excellence and nurture lifelong involvement in choral music for everyone through education, performance, composition and advocacy.
Utilizing concepts from piano and dance, this session will help beginning and advanced conductors develop a consistent gestural vocabulary in-formed by the musical ideas within a phrase, including articulation, harmony, vocal considerations, and text. Gestural ideas that will be explored include the ictus, weight, lift, acceleration, arm motion, wrist motion, and left hand. Through this […]
Kansas City MO.When guided through a systematic learning process, choirs will produce a quality musical experience and communicate more effectively to the listener. To prepare, inspire, teach voice, and motivate singers in an orderly, step-by-step manner is the foundation of my system of teaching choral music. This session will offer strategies for recruiting, detailed score preparation, and […]
Kansas City MO.This session will explore the factors that impact balance and blend and illustrate principles to improve these aspects of choral performances. Topics to be discussed include standing formations, voicing the choir, stylistic issues, registers and balance, vowel modification, intonation and unity, vibrato, and repertoire choices. Session participants will be led through many rehearsal tools and […]
Kansas City MO.Do you avoid programming Baroque repertoire? You can make Baroque music enjoyable for your choir, perform it well, and develop versatile singers. This session will explore stylistic vocal techniques, historical practice guidelines, and use of foreign languages to enhance your performances, and how to make an orchestral-reduction accompaniment more playable. Participants will leave with stylistically […]
Kansas City MO.It is incredibly beneficial to expose young singers to the masterworks of the choral cannon. Utilizing the works of J. S. Bach in the context of sight-reading and performance provides students with knowledge and understanding of the preeminent composer of the Baroque era. Brian Murray will explore strategies for selecting and teaching appropriate repertoire by […]
Kansas City MO.Becoming a collegiate choral director takes more than desire or being a “stick jockey.” A collegiate choral director must document a proven life of service to the field of education and music. Likewise with job applicants. The preparation and action begins in the undergraduate years and extends well beyond when a position is offered. Using […]
Kansas City MO.
